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Sarah Picard

Sarah Picard's work focuses on policy-level reform in the adult criminal justice context and how research evidence can best be translated into practice. She is currently engaged in national studies of pretrial responses to intimate partner violence and prosecutor decision-making in cases involving violence. Dr. Picard also has extensive experience studying the use of actuarial risk assessment tools in court settings and has recently completed a study modeling the potential impact of risk assessment on pretrial racial disparities in New York City. Finally, she co-leads the Center’s efforts to reduce jail incarceration and improve pretrial systems through the MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge and the Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research Initiative. Her past research includes mixed-methods evaluations of problem-solving initiatives ranging from community-based gun violence prevention models to drug and domestic violence courts. She received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.

Publications

  • Alternative Responses to Intimate Partner Violence in the Era of Pretrial Reform
  • Evaluating Probation Reform in New York City
  • Arguing The Algorithm: Pretrial Risk Assessment And The Zealous Defender
  • Court-Ordered Community Service: A National Perspective
  • Beyond the Algorithm: Pretrial Reform, Risk Assessment, and Racial Fairness
  • Up & Out: Toward an Evidence-Based Response to Misdemeanors
  • Risk Assessment and Pretrial Diversion: Frequently Asked Questions
  • Risk Assessment and Misdemeanor Validation in Cook County
  • Understanding Risk and Needs in Misdemeanor Populations
  • The Criminal Court Assessment Tool: Development and Validation
  • Empirical Means to Decarcerative Ends?
  • A Person-Centered Approach to Risk and Need Classification in Drug Court
  • Race and Risk Assessment: Would We Know a Fair Tool If We Saw It?
  • Demystifying Risk Assessment: Key Principles and Controversies
  • Evidence-Based Risk Assessment in a Mental Health Court: A Validation Study of the COMPAS Risk Assessment
  • The Brownsville Anti-Violence Project: Evaluation Findings
  • Implementing Evidence Based Assessment and Treatment Matching: A Feasibility and Impact Study in Three New York City Drug Courts
  • Assessment and Treatment Matching: A Case Study of Traditional Practices in Three New York City Drug Courts
  • Predictors of Mental Health Court Program Compliance and Rearrest in Brooklyn, New York
  • Testing a Public Health Approach to Gun Violence
  • The Nassau Juvenile Treatment Court: Program Outcomes and Impact Evaluation
  • Deterrence and Legitimacy in Brownsville, Brooklyn: A Process Evaluation of the Brownsville Anti-Violence Project
  • Litigant Perspectives in an Integrated Domestic Violence Court: The Case of Yonkers, New York
  • The Erie County Integrated Domestic Violence Court: Policies, Practices, and Impacts
  • The Suffolk County Integrated Domestic Violence Court: Policies, Practices, and Impacts
  • Predictors of Program Compliance and Re-arrest in the Brooklyn Mental Health Court
  • The Bronx Family Treatment Court, 2005-2010: Impact on Family Court Outcomes and Participant Experiences and Perceptions
  • Evidence-Based Screening among Drug-Involved Defendants: Piloting the GAIN Short Screener in the Brooklyn Treatment Court
  • A National Portrait of Domestic Violence Courts
  • Expanding Access to Drug Court: An Evaluation of Brooklyn's Centralized Drug Screening and Referral Initiative
Sarah Picard

My Recent Work

Alternative Responses to Intimate Partner Violence in the Era of Pretrial Reform
Evaluating Probation Reform in New York City
Arguing The Algorithm: Pretrial Risk Assessment And The Zealous Defender
Court-Ordered Community Service: A National Perspective
Beyond the Algorithm: Pretrial Reform, Risk Assessment, and Racial Fairness
Up & Out: Toward an Evidence-Based Response to Misdemeanors
Risk Assessment and Pretrial Diversion: Frequently Asked Questions
Risk Assessment and Misdemeanor Validation in Cook County
Understanding Risk and Needs in Misdemeanor Populations
The Criminal Court Assessment Tool: Development and Validation
Empirical Means to Decarcerative Ends?
A Person-Centered Approach to Risk and Need Classification in Drug Court
Race and Risk Assessment: Would We Know a Fair Tool If We Saw It?
Demystifying Risk Assessment: Key Principles and Controversies
Evidence-Based Risk Assessment in a Mental Health Court: A Validation Study of the COMPAS Risk Assessment
The Brownsville Anti-Violence Project: Evaluation Findings
Implementing Evidence Based Assessment and Treatment Matching: A Feasibility and Impact Study in Three New York City Drug Courts
Assessment and Treatment Matching: A Case Study of Traditional Practices in Three New York City Drug Courts
Predictors of Mental Health Court Program Compliance and Rearrest in Brooklyn, New York
Testing a Public Health Approach to Gun Violence
The Nassau Juvenile Treatment Court: Program Outcomes and Impact Evaluation
Deterrence and Legitimacy in Brownsville, Brooklyn: A Process Evaluation of the Brownsville Anti-Violence Project
Litigant Perspectives in an Integrated Domestic Violence Court: The Case of Yonkers, New York
The Erie County Integrated Domestic Violence Court: Policies, Practices, and Impacts
The Suffolk County Integrated Domestic Violence Court: Policies, Practices, and Impacts
Predictors of Program Compliance and Re-arrest in the Brooklyn Mental Health Court
The Bronx Family Treatment Court, 2005-2010: Impact on Family Court Outcomes and Participant Experiences and Perceptions
Evidence-Based Screening among Drug-Involved Defendants: Piloting the GAIN Short Screener in the Brooklyn Treatment Court
A National Portrait of Domestic Violence Courts
Expanding Access to Drug Court: An Evaluation of Brooklyn's Centralized Drug Screening and Referral Initiative
View All Publications →
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